Sri Lankan Cabinet Approves Committee to Study Voting Rights of Overseas Citizens

Strategic Insights -

The Sri Lankan Cabinet of Ministers has granted approval for the Minister of Public Administration, Provincial Councils and Local Government to establish a committee tasked with studying the possibility of amending laws to safeguard the voting rights of Sri Lankan citizens living abroad. The committee will comprise officials from various ministries and institutions, including the Elections Commission and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This move comes in response to the fact that currently, there is no provision in Sri Lankan law for overseas citizens to cast their votes. Many Asian countries have already implemented measures to enable their citizens living abroad to participate in elections, highlighting the need for Sri Lanka to follow suit.

Key Takeaways:

  • The Cabinet of Ministers has approved the establishment of a committee to study the possibility of amending laws to safeguard the voting rights of Sri Lankan citizens living abroad.
  • The committee will comprise officials from the Elections Commission, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism, the Ministry of Public Administration, Provincial Councils and Local Government, and other ministries and institutions.
  • According to Article 3 of the Constitution of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, the right to vote is reserved only for citizens living within Sri Lanka and registered in the electoral register.
  • There is currently no provision in Sri Lankan law to secure a method for overseas citizens to cast their votes.
  • Many Asian countries, including India, Bangladesh, and the Philippines, have already formulated laws to enable their citizens living abroad to cast their votes.
  • The Sri Lankan government recognizes the need to amend the current laws and formulate new laws to safeguard the voting rights of overseas citizens.

Statistics:

  • No specific statistics are mentioned in the provided text.
  • However, it is mentioned that many Asian countries, including India, Bangladesh, and the Philippines, have implemented measures to enable their citizens living abroad to participate in elections.

Sources:

  • [Source not explicitly mentioned; article refers to online news source]